Tuesday, July 05, 2011

This may be the most hated face in America today, and I’m certainly no exception. But one of the things that has bothered me the most about watching the Casey Anthony trial is the defense, by so many in the media and even on the street, of George, Cindy, and even Lee.

I started following this trial because of my “other” job. Reviewing Casey’s journal entries and jailhouse letters—penned in a scrawl that is eerily similar to her father’s weirdly effeminate script in the suicide note—a riveting personality emerged. Casey is the ultimate example of what I have come to call a “brateopath.” She is sociopathic, narcissistic, and a result of indulgence that spoils, quite literally, a human being. In other words, when we hear the phrase “spoiled brat,” we don’t look terribly closely at the term. But this was a human being who was literally spoiled—ruined, broken, and damaged— by her entire family’s refusal to make her face consequences.

She didn’t graduate high school, but her mother threw her a party.

She lied about her pregnancy, and her mother indulged the denial.

She stole money from her own grandparents, and when confronted, Cindy defended her and asked that she not face charges.

She lied about jobs, people, and a nanny… to a family who knew she lied, knew she was a criminal, and knew she expected others to cover for her.

Are we really supposed to believe that anyone in that house was surprised? When we hear the panic and terror in Cindy’s voice during the 911 call, are we really supposed to indulge yet another lie, and believe her when she claims she didn’t IMMEDIATELY know something was wrong, and that Casey was behind it?

No, and that’s why I ask everyone to consider that Cindy, George, Lee, and anyone else who indulged her when they knew she was the broken creature they’d helped create, are partially responsible.

Believe it or not, seeing a criminal indulged throughout my childhood is precisely what encouraged me to get involved in LLVF (language, literary, and verbal forensics). It also inspired a lot of my written work. I know how this sort of thing damages… and how long… and how deeply.

Casey was guilty, no matter what the jury says. If they feel they didn’t have the evidence, I do understand, whatever my own opinion may be.

You know who DID have the evidence? Her family. And they had it BEFORE that innocent angel was thrown into a swamp to rot.